


Stone Cold

by 0bsessedwithereri_nz



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Action & Romance, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Arranged Marriage, Barista Hanji, Barista Marco, Blood, Blood and Violence, Businessman Levi, Fights, Fluff, M/M, Mental Abuse, Minor Character Death, Physical Abuse, Possible Anime Spoilers, Singer Eren, Slow Build, Violence, possible manga spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-02
Updated: 2019-01-31
Packaged: 2019-10-03 02:08:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,474
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17275091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/0bsessedwithereri_nz/pseuds/0bsessedwithereri_nz
Summary: Ever since Levi was a pre-teen, he knew he'd have to marry her, otherwise he'd have to answer to his abusive uncle which never turned out well for Levi's wellbeing. But after meeting a certain singer at his favourite bar, he knew he was in deep, deep shit.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! Thank you so much for checking out my first ever fanfic! The structure of the story is inspired by another fanfic I read. 
> 
> So, basically, it's a cyclical story meaning at the beginning of each chapter, there's a small scene from present day then it flashes back to the past to explain how the characters got to where they are in the present.
> 
> Just incase anyone gets confused!
> 
> Anyhow, enjoy!! :D <3

_SLAM_

The polished wooden door slams open. A dark-haired man of short stature bolts from inside the gorgeous ‘American Dream’ home, desperation written all over his objectively perfect face. A thick layer of pure white snow coats the driveway, almost making him slip and fall as he makes his way to his parked car now also covered with snow.

Reaching into his trousers, he pulls out his keys with shaking hands and attempts to insert the key into the driver door lock.

“For fuck’s sake. Come. _On_!” the man yells.

“It’s okay, Levi. Calm. Take a deep breath and calm…” The familiar voice sounds inside Levi’s head, but he gasps as if someone were whispering in his ear. He glances around him, however, realizing that, of course, he’s alone.

Levi lowers his grey-blue eyes back down to his still trembling hands. Releasing the furrow of his brow, he closes his eyes, and takes a deep breath. In through the nose, out through the mouth. He looks down once more to find his hands perfectly still.

The corners of his mouth pull upwards ever so slightly, which has become an almost foreign feeling to him once again.

“I’m coming. Please wait for me.”

 

\-----

 

Alcohol and good music.

That’s what Levi would answer with if someone asked him what he thought made a good time. Music can make you feel good, and alcohol can make you feel even better, plus if you drink enough of the good shit, it’ll make you forget about all the bullshit going on in your life. But in Levi’s case, he wishes it’d do more.

“Maybe if I just keep drinking, it will all disappear.” Levi says to himself as he sits in his car, parked outside an old fashioned building covered in white paint. The car is his most prized possession, a beautiful black 1966 Chevrolet Impala. He takes one last long drag of his cigarette before stepping out of his car, throwing the butt to the ground and snuffing it out with the heel of his leather dress shoes.

“Tsk… yeah right. But one can only try.”

Just like any other Monday afternoon at exactly 5:45pm, Levi exits his car, locks it, and walks up to the usual bouncer.

“Ackerman! What a surprise.” Not really. “Another rough day at the office?”

“Does today end with ‘day’, Nile?” It’s a good thing for Nile that he knows Levi decently well after all his visits here, otherwise he’d probably be shitting his pants at the deathly look Levi never ceases to wear. His cold grey eyes, sunken into his sockets, shadowed by dark circles, and his contrasting pale white skin could make even the manliest of men look the other way.

“Ha- always the jokester, aren’t we, Levi?” Nile laughs alone. “Go on in, man. I think you’re going to enjoy yourself tonight. We got a new face for the stage! He’s a goodie.”

Levi not at all subtly rolls his eyes and enters the bar, which goes by the name The Library and is, in reality, more of a lounge that features excellent live music, delicious food and the most unique cocktails around. The booths have extremely comfortable sofas on either side of black and white marble tables. Hanging from the ceiling are human-sized bubbles filled with cushions and a place to put drinks, and a nice small stage over in the corner furthest from the entrance and right by the bar. What’s better is that the good performers take song requests. Which is why Levi is beyond grateful it’s not a jukebox, because humans can say no to the shitty songs.

It’s a place anybody who is of age can go to do almost anything- relax, drink, eat, study, drink, work, play board games, drink, listen to music… you name it. Levi absolutely only goes for the music and booze; all the other bars in town around are filled with loud, smelly drunk assholes who have no respect for the other people around them, and Levi has no tolerance for people like that. Especially after being around said people at his work, minus the drunk part.

Although he does enjoy a strong drink, or five, he doesn’t do it for the social life, or to ‘let loose’ as some say. He drinks to escape and forget his cursed reality, even if it’s only for an hour or two.

He waltzes through the building over to the bar, takes his usual cushioned stool seat, removes his sleek suit jacket and lets out a sigh when he sees the bartender flirting it up with another customer down the other side.

“Oi, shitty glasses!” Levi projects down the bar, giving them a very unimpressed look. “You gonna do your job and get me a drink or not?”

“Leeeeeviiiiii!!” the bartender screeches like banshee, seemingly forgetting they were just talking to someone not five feet from them.

Levi winces at the awful sound then proceeds to grunt in annoyance when he sees them vaulting over the bar and racing over towards him with their typical ginormous smile that even the Joker would be terrified of. And, before he knows it, he can’t breathe. Shitty Glasses may not look physically strong from the outside, but fucking hell they would break Levi’s back if they hugged him even 0.1% harder.

“Get your fucking paws off me, crazy hag!” Levi groans with all of his might, and shoves them away. They stumble back a few feet, glasses falling down the bridge of their nose, and stare at him.

“Tsk”, Levi says with the tiniest of smirks that only people closest to him would recognize as a smirk, “how you doing, Hanji?”

“You always do know how to keep me on my toes, Levi,” Hanji exclaims as they vaults back over the bar flawlessly after playfully winking toward him. “Well, I am doing much better now that your booty is in that bar seat. Now, what can I get ya?”

“Jameson on the rocks.”

“Oh, going straight for the good stuff, huh?”

“Trust me. If I have to keep going home to all of that bullshit, I need that liquid gold in my system. And a lot of it.”

After hearing the melancholy tone in Levi’s voice, Hanji gives him a sad yet comforting smile then grabs the bottle of Jameson Irish Whiskey off the shelf, grabs a glass for each of them and begins to pour.

“Alright tough guy. What happened?” Hanji demands.

“Huh? What makes you think that anything ‘happened’?”

“Do you want them in alphabetical or chronological order?” Hanji giggles. “Well, for starters, you always start off with the strong stuff when you’ve had a particularly shit day. Was it the parents?”

Levi is shocked at how their first guess is spot on. Although, it wasn’t _his_ parents either of them were thinking of or referring to.

Levi works for his girlfriend’s family in their furniture business, but it’s no ordinary furniture business. This shit is all handmade with the finest materials one can buy and majoritively custom orders from very “important” people with very “high net worths”.

Does Levi give a fuck about furniture? No. Does he give a shit about the difference between an Ottoman and a Hassock? Fuck no. Does he give a rats fucking ass about all these very important people? Absolutely _fucking_ not! The only thing Levi does care about is getting through the day without punching somebody’s lights out or getting alcohol poisoning that night.

Sometimes he wishes he could purposely mess up these people’s orders just to make sure they don’t come back and buy from them again. But then he would have to deal with his soon to be parents-in-law getting on his ass even more than they already are. And as of this day, he has not made an overly noticeable mistake in years, yet they still find something to pick at as if they don’t have a fucking company to be running.

“Do I really need to answer that?” Levi answers as he buries himself in his glass.

“Oh, hun, I really don’t understand why you don’t just up and quit already. You’re obviously miserable there.”

“You know I can’t do that, Hanji.” He puts down his now empty glass and stares at the freshly cleaned bar top.

“Actually, I don’t know. You’re not exactly one to share details, Levi. Not that I mind, of course, like yes I’d like to know what’s making you so upset all the time but I’m not going to pry.”

Levi finally looks at Hanji again and raises his eyebrow while keeping his stoic expression plastered to his face.

“What? I know my boundaries,” they say, lifting their hands up off the bar to either side of their head.

“Not when it comes to personal space you don’t,” Levi mutters as he returns to look at his empty glass. Hanji sighs, grabs the whiskey bottle again and fills Levi’s glass with more.

“Hey now, everybody needs a hug every now and again. Anyway, you know little ol’ me is here to listen if you need, and I’m not gonna blab. Hell, I don’t know who I’d blab to!”

“ _Look_ , it-!” Levi slams his hands on the bar, startling Hanji and other bar-goers around him. Quickly realising his sudden outburst, he looks around and sits back down in his seat and buries his face in his skinny hands. “I’m sorry, I just… I can’t, okay. That’s all you need to know.”

“Alright, I’ll back off. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have pushed. I’ll be right back.”

He lowers his hands to reveal his furrowed brows, and all they do is wink and walk away from behind the bar and behind the curtains by the stage. Levi rolls his eyes, downs his already filled glass and begins to eye the whiskey bottle Hanji left out in arms reach, considering pouring himself another glass.  
  
Yes, this would be his third glass and probably not his last, but he does need to drive home. Sure, he could get a cab, God knows he can afford it, but there’s no way in _hell_ he’s leaving his baby out for drunkards or teenagers to vandalize or steal. Although, this wouldn’t be the first time he’s driven home drunk before. He knows it’s wrong, he knows he could get somebody seriously hurt or worse, but all his cares and worries in the world fade away when that first drop of amber liquid makes contact with his taste buds.

As if out of nowhere, a loud screeching noise sounds from the stage, snapping Levi out of his alcohol-induced daze to see Hanji standing right beside him, blocking his view of the stage.

“What the _fuck_? You letting some amateur on the stage tonight or something?” Levi says with a big scowl on his face, irritated that his quiet place was disrupted by something louder and more annoying than Hanji’s voice.

“Don’t worry, you’re gonna like this one.” They send him yet another wink and walk out of his line of sight, revealing some snot-nosed kid standing on stage.

However, that not particularly nice thought vanished from existence as soon the ‘kid’ looked out into the crowd. Then all Levi could think and say was:

“ _Wow._ ”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ever since Levi was a pre-teen, he knew he'd have to marry her, otherwise he'd have to answer to his abusive uncle which never turned out well for Levi's wellbeing. But after meeting a certain singer at his favourite bar, he knew he was in deep, deep shit.

Levi prays with everything inside of him that he’ll be forgiven for everything he’s done, or at the very least have the chance to explain himself. He hurriedly climbs into his car and doesn’t take his usual sweet time to get comfortable so as to admire the purr of the engine when it springs to life.

 _Click_.

That’s because he couldn’t admire a sound-

 _Click_.

\- that didn’t exist.

“No… No, no, no, no!” he curses. He turns the key again, and again, and again. Nothing.

Maybe this is a sign. His baby never gives out like this, not since it was handed down to him all those years ago. It had to be a sign, the universe is telling him to stay away just like he was told to. Levi squeezes his eyes shut, and rests his head against the steering wheel.

“That’s a good boy. Stay and do as you’re told, like the good for nothing runt you are,” a voice sounds inside Levi’s mind once again. But this time, it’s a voice he loathes to hear. His brows furrow together so tightly they could almost touch each other and his eyes fly open, filled with determination to show that bastard who is really in control.

“ _No._ I refuse to sit here and let you push me around anymore,” Levi whispers. The words turn to visible breath in the cold, silent air around him.  
   
   
\-----  
   
   
He’s never been the biggest fan of the color green. He sees it every single day, there’s nothing to get excited over. Green is green is green. That’s what he’s always thought. Until now.

The kid, as Levi previously labeled him, awkwardly stands on the stage while holding a classic Mahogany acoustic guitar; this is obviously one of his first performances in front of a small crowd. He lifts his eyes from off the floor and out into the crowd. That’s when something magical happens. Levi sees the boy’s eyes go from almost colorless, to the most unique and beautiful shade of green he had ever seen. The spotlight hits his face in a certain way from the perfect angle, that makes his eyes almost seem to glow. Levi is undeniably mesmerized, unable to look away as if in a trance. 

Hanji walks onstage holding a stool in one hand and a microphone stand in the other. The kid snaps over to look at Hanji, smiles, and thanks them. He takes a moment to sit down and adjust the microphone before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.

As he breathes out, his broad shoulders slowly return to their resting position. He opens eyes again, returning his gaze to his guitar, shuffles in his seat for a moment, and begins to delicately pluck the strings.

_  
I lost, I was lingering in the dark_

_Hard times, don’t you know we’ve seen them all_

_Ain’t one to preach_

_Ain’t one to speak on what I don’t know  
_ 

Soulful, smooth like butter and… beautiful. Levi doesn’t know jackshit about music or how to describe someone’s voice, but those are the words that came to mind.

_  
I lay that burden down_

_With one hand, we’re reaching for the sky_

_And one hand, holding on for life  
_ 

He knows this song, he’s heard it on the radio while driving to and from the bar. He didn’t think anyone knew Daughtry. They had a few hit songs that everyone knew, but no one really knows their name.  
 

_I won’t raise my, I won’t raise my white flag_

_In this life_

_The moment I surrender, bury me in the ground_

_I’d die before you see me take a bow  
_ 

This kid’s eyes left Levi speechless, but his voice leaves him paralyzed. The chorus of this particular song always gave him goosebumps because of how the singer’s voice went from being so soft and endearing, to belting out the lyrics with an intense passion.  
 

_You know we all got, you know we all got_

_You know we all got a lot to lose_

_I won’t surrender, pray the Lord my soul to take_

_Thank God, I live to die another day_

Levi could feel the passion radiating from the singer on stage, but instead of feeling riled up like he does with the original, he feels a sense of comfort watching the singer perform.

_  
You know we all got, you know we all got_

_You know we all got a lot to lose_

_I won’t raise my white flag, ‘till I’m through  
 _

Where the fuck did this kid come from? He’s got everybody wrapped around his little finger already and it’s only been a minute. Girls are pressing their hands up against their chests in admiration, and even the guys are staring. Who is this kid?  
 

_I found, my way followin’ a trail of hurt_

_‘Cause my name, ain’t no stranger to the dirt_

_It’s been dragged around, it’s been kicked around_

_They left lyin’ there for dead  
 _

_But I defy, before I lose the right_

_And take the time, to watch the river rise_

_I won’t raise my, I won’t raise my white flag_

_In this life  
_ 

Passion like this doesn’t come out of nowhere. Levi can tell this kid has been through some shit, just like he has. There’s a reason he took notice of this song, however; though the lyrics carry a message that speaks to Levi, it never helped him. It never inspired him, until now.  
 

_The moment I surrender, bury me in the ground_

_I’d die before you see me take a bow_

_You know we all got, you know we all got_

_You know we all got a lot to lose_

_I won’t surrender, pray the lord my soul to take_

_Thank God, I live to die another day  
_ 

For some reason, this brat has weaseled his way into what was thought to be a cold, dead heart and made it beat again. Even if it was only the one time.  
 

_You know we all got, you know we all got_

_You know we all got a lot to lose_

_I won’t raise my white flag, ‘till I’m through_

_I won’t raise my, I won’t raise my_

_I won’t raise my white flag, until I’m through  
_ 

Silence. Everybody was in shock from what they’d just witnessed, Levi included. It’s like they had just seen a superstar perform in concert for the first time.

Suddenly, a roaring applause sounded throughout the bar, startling the singer. After a moment, he smiles while looking out and scanning the crowd. Something catches Levi’s eye; the singer looks down to the floor while biting his lip, obviously trying to contain the adrenaline he’s feeling.

“Levi?” He feels a tap on his shoulder. Levi spins around at top speed to see Hanji standing behind the bar with an entertained expression on their face.

“Huh? _What_?” he says as he tries to compose himself, and failing.

“You alright, hun? You need some water? You’re looking as red as a tomato!” Hanji exclaims, lifting their hand up towards Levi’s forehead. With lightning reflexes, he swats their hand away before they could touch him.

“I’m fine. It’s the booze, dumbass. Plus there’s a fuck ton of people in here now because of that brat,” Levi gestures over towards the singer as he begins to play another song. “So, forgive me if it’s getting a little warm in here.”

Why is he getting so upset? Hanji was just looking out for him. Levi grabs the bottle of whiskey out of Hanji’s hand as they went to put it back on the shelf, pours himself another glass and downs it in one fell swoop. He slams the glass on the bar, hissing as the alcohol burns his throat on the way down and grabs his suit jacket.

“I’m gonna get some air,” Levi announces and proceeds to stumble through the crowd that has grown in size since he last checked, shoving people out of his way. He needed a cigarette to calm the fuck down.

He launches himself outside the bar doors, slightly startling Nile who was in the middle of turning away an underaged girl trying to enter the bar. Levi scoffs at her failed attempt at seducing Nile into letting her inside and pulls out his cigarette packet.

“Alright girlie, it’s time for you to go on home. Unless you want me to call your mama to come get you?” Nile says in his usual sardonic tone. The girl makes a weird sound of astonishment, turns on her heel and walks away, while Nile turns towards Levi. “What, you done already?”

With a cigarette loosely hanging from his lips, Levi slowly looks at Nile who has a shit-eating grin plastered on his face, and gives him his usual deathly stare. He reaches into his jacket pocket to pull out his lighter, and lights the cigarette. Without breaking eye contact, Levi takes a drag, and blows cigarette smoke directly into Niles face. He walks away content with making that asshole cough so desperately on the smoke.

He walks over to a nearby bench, sits down and leans right back so his head is angled all the way up to the sky. Enjoying the peace and quiet, he takes his time working through that cigarette and feeling the effects of that delicious whiskey start to take hold. That’s until he hears a large group of bar-goers leaving the bar, stumbling around the pavement like the assholes they are. He tightly closes his eyes, trying to block out the annoyance that is people.

And when he thought it couldn’t get worse, he heard someone walking in his direction.

“Oh my god, that’s so disgusting. Doesn’t he know how much crap gets put in cigarettes?” For a _whisper_ , that lady is pretty fucking loud with that obnoxious mouth of hers; could hardly even call it a whisper. Why can’t people keep their damn opinions to themselves, or at least until they’re out of earshot of the very people they’re bitching about.

“I know, right? He’s literally signing his death sentence.” A more masculine voice this time, despite him obviously making up for what he lacks between his legs by using his mouth. “No matter, the sooner people like him get off our streets, the better.” The couple laughs together.

 _That’s it._  Levi shoots his eyes open, sits upright, but before he can get a word out-

“Hey!” A voice booms from beside Levi, followed by quick footsteps. Levi turns his head to see the green-eyed singer storming over towards the couple, eyes locked onto them like he’s going to eat them for dinner. “What on Earth is _wrong_ with you?”

“Excuse me?” The blonde female scoffs at the confrontation. Levi is more stunned than anything, except perhaps irked. Who does this brat think he is anyway? Butting into other people’s business like that. 

“You heard me. What makes you think you have the right to say those things about a complete stranger when he can clearly hear you?”

“It’s disgusting! Nobody wants to see that-” the brunette man speaks this time, only to be quickly interrupted.

“That’s your opinion. You can’t speak for anyone other than yourself because, for me, I _don’t_ mind that people smoke! Yes, if they were blowing smoke directly in my face, I’d have a problem, but he’s not hurting anybody.” The brat exudes a confidence that has seemed to appear out of nowhere, like that anxious singer Levi saw not long ago never existed.

“Ha! You’re hilarious, love.” That woman really doesn’t know when to quit, does she? “You say he’s not hurting anybody? Of course, he is! He’s hurting, no, he’s _killing_ himself by smoking that shit!"

“And how is that any of your business? You don’t know what he’s going through. So, instead of being arrogant pieces of shit, open your eyes and shut your damn mouths!” The brat is near yelling at this point, but Levi is stuck in a vortex of his own thoughts while the trio continues to argue on the street. 

She's right. These cigarettes _are_ slowly killing him. Even though these cigarette packets have warning labels spread across them, he never actually considered the fact that it _would_ happen to him. Maybe that’s what he wanted… but if he did, wouldn’t he have found a quicker way of doing it? No, the thought of dying terrifies him to the core. Yes, his life is shit. Yes, he’s miserable. But he doesn’t want to die. 

Suddenly, a hand slaps down onto his shoulder, breaking him out of the trap that is his own subconscious.

“Hey, are you okay?” Those green eyes are looking directly at him now, as if they are peering into his soul, or what’s left of it. After a moment of silence, the man standing in front of him furrows his eyebrows and shifts awkwardly in place. “Um, I’m sorry you had to hear that. I can’t believe they had the balls to say things like that about you.”

“Huh?” Levi realizes he’d been staring directly into those glowing eyes for far too long. Shit. “Oh, no, it’s... fine. Thanks for that... I guess.”

“Of course,” he smiles and takes a seat next to Levi. “I mean, I’d want someone to stand up for me if people were saying rude things about me, too.” A moment passes before the boy speaks again. “I, uh, saw you inside sitting at the bar. How do you know Hanji?”

“Who, shitty glasses?” Levi asks. The singer bursts out laughing at the nickname.

“I’m sorry. I just wasn’t expecting that,” he giggles.

“Right. Well, Hanji’s…” Levi thinks for a second. What is Hanji to him? “They’re just a bartender. I don’t know them very well.”

“You obviously know them well enough to call them ‘them’,” he says with a smirk on his face, eyes glistening as they look towards Levi.

“Sure.” Levi goes to take one last drag from his cigarette, but stops just shy of his lips. He takes a moment to think, snuffs it out on the bench instead and stands. “Well, I’m going to, uh… yeah.”

“Oh, yeah, I should be heading home, too. It was nice meeting you, maybe I’ll see you around?"

“Yeah, maybe…” Levi says as he notices the brat bite his lip, just like he had when he was on stage. Wait, when did his heart start beating so fast?

The two exchange awkward, basic goodbyes and went their separate ways. Levi is glad it wasn’t one of those encounters where you say goodbye then walk in the same direction. That would’ve been fucking awful. Well, would it have been that bad? If that had happened, he could’ve shown off his prized car.

 _‘Fucking hell, Levi, cut it out!’_ Levi thinks to himself as he lightly slaps himself across his cheek as he approaches his car. As he sits in his car seat, he checks his phone to see what time it is. 8:30 pm. Shit. 2 missed calls and 4 texts. _Shit_.

He quickly turns the car on and can’t help but take a moment to listen to that beautiful V8 engine purr. Goddamnit, that sound never ceases to put a smile on Levi’s face, even if it’s only for one sweet moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you guys are enjoying the story so far! Apologies for any grammatical errors... As my friend says, I'm a rookie- ha.  
> Follow me on Tumblr for all things Ereri <3 http://www.obsessedwithereri-nz.tumblr.com  
>    
> I do not own the song! The song is called White Flag by Daughtry -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQ6KOIOczcI


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ever since Levi was a pre-teen, he knew he'd have to marry her, otherwise he'd have to answer to his abusive uncle which never turned out well for Levi's wellbeing. But after meeting a certain singer at his favourite bar, he knew he was in deep, deep shit.

Reaching into the glove compartment, Levi grabs a small black remote to open the garage door. Where there is normally a pristine silver 2018 Tesla S, there is now only the junk she and Levi meant to donate when they weren’t fucking working.

“Shit.” Levi damns himself for being so stupid. Of course she took the damn car! How else was she supposed to get anywhere in this weather?

He presses the button again to close the door, pulls out his phone, and dials a number. With his right foot frantically tapping away, he tries not to scream into the atmosphere out of sheer desperation and impatience. He needed to be at that damn studio yesterday!

“Hello,” a feminine voice speaks through the phone.

“Thank g- yes, hello! I-”

“Thank you for calling Sina Taxi Service. Due to high demand, our current wait time is approximately _thirty_ to _forty_ minutes. Please hold the line an-”

“Oh, for,” Levi hangs up and throws his phone to the floor of his car, “FUUUCK!”

Feeling completely and utterly defeated, Levi leans back into his driver seat and plunges the palms of his hands into his eye sockets, silently begging them not to let the tears go. He tries to steady his breathing, only to fail.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, _fuck_!” he repeatedly slams his hands against the steering wheel, and luckily doesn’t set off the airbag inside.

After a moment, Levi steps out of his car and slowly closes the car door, all without taking his eyes off the ground. He begins to solemnly drag himself back towards the house, until something stops him in his tracks. He looks up and smiles.

“No, fuck this.”

He spins around and starts to run.

 

\-----

 

Driving down the street, Levi makes sure he’s as focused as physically possible on his driving because he’s well over the legal limit and should absolutely not be behind the wheel. Cruising along, he pulls up to a red light.

“Damn,” Levi remarks sarcastically, knowing this particular set of lights take _forever_ to go green because he’s coming out of a quiet side street.

His phone disturbs the peaceful silence with an incoming call. He didn’t even need to check his phone to know who was calling, since it’s been the same person all night. Knowing he’s got some sweet talking to do, he figures he’ll get a head start, despite him wanting to put it off for as long as possible. That, and he knows better; Levi has enough drama in his life, he may as well be in Days Of Our Lives.

He reaches into his jacket pocket only for his fingers to graze a piece of paper, rather than his phone. Levi takes the piece of paper out to find a number written across it, along with the letters ‘EJ’. He stares at it, now more confused than before, before realizing his phone is still ringing.

“Oh, fuck.” He grabs his phone and answers just in time. “Heeeey, Petra.”

_‘Really, Levi?_ That’s _how you answer your girlfriend’s phone call?’_ he thinks to himself.

“Levi! Are you okay? I’ve been worried about you!” Petra squeals through the phone.

“I’m fine. Look, I’m almost home.” A sigh sounds from the other side.

“Good, because I need to talk to you.” _Great_ , because that’s exactly what Levi needs today, a ‘fun’ conversation with his girlfriend.

“Okay, I’m about fifteen minutes away.”

“Alright, I’ll see you soon.” With that, she hangs up. Levi goes to put his phone down when he realizes he’s still holding that little scrunched up piece of paper with the number on it. Deciding that’s a problem to be solved later, he puts it back into his suit pocket and continues to drive home as soberly as possible.

What would normally be a fifteen-minute drive turned out to be closer to thirty because Levi was definitely feeling the effects of three glasses of whiskey by this point, and his empty stomach really not helping the situation at hand. Thankfully, he didn’t rouse any suspicion the whole drive back. Probably thanks to the practice he’s had.

He pulls up into the driveway, turns the car off, and reluctantly steps out. Once inside the house, he calls out to Petra while placing his car keys on the designated hook and taking off his shoes by the front door.

“Petra?” Levi calls out again after not hearing a response. He walks down the short hallway in front of him that leads into the kitchen and living room areas, only to find the TV on and a small head covered in strawberry blonde hair just barely visible from the top of the couch.

He sighs when he sees freshly made spaghetti carbonara sitting in a bowl slowly getting cold, making it obvious that Petra had expected him home so they could have dinner together.

“I’m sorry I’m late, Pet.” Levi says, feeling a small hint of guilt after seeing her efforts go to waste over a dinner not shared. He makes his way over to her. “I grabbed a couple drinks after work and those damn fucking traffic lights were not my friends to-”

He stops mid-sentence to see Petra slouched over against the back of the couch, eyes closed, lips slightly apart and taking deep, rhythmic breaths. Yup, she’s asleep, and this isn’t the first time he’s come home to this sight either, and he always feels like an ass everytime he does. But does it stop him from doing it again? Apparently not.

Mondays are the longest and toughest day of the week for Levi and Petra. They start by waking up at 4:30 am to be out the door by 5:30, 6 am at the very latest. They’re both very meticulous with their morning routines so they absolutely need that full hour every morning. After a long commute into the Ral’s Furniture Inc. Headquarters, the couple have a two-hour meeting with Mr. and Mrs. Ral, one hour if they’re lucky, about all things bullshit.

So, suffice to say they’re both exhausted by the end of the day, both physically and mentally, yet somehow she still has enough energy to cook incredible meals. Levi will never understand her, but he’ll also never cease to be amazed by her.

“Petra?” Levi gently nudges her shoulder to wake her but to no prevail.

Levi won’t lie, he is tempted to go straight to the bedroom and have the whole bed to himself for once, but he definitely knows better. He knows if he isn’t the best and perfect partner, in both life and in business, he’ll be answering to only one person.

Levi shivers at the thought and goes to gingerly lift her up off the couch, one arm under her legs and the other supporting her back, while her head rests on his shoulder.

“Mmph.” Petra squirms in Levi’s arms for a moment before nuzzling into the crook of Levi’s neck with a small smile on her face.

Normally, that’d make any person’s heart flutter, seeing their loved one sleepily cuddle into them like that, but not him. Sure, Levi thinks she’s incredibly cute and an amazing human being, but he doesn’t love her that way. Not in the way that she loves him. He truly cares for her and only wants the best for her, and _apparently_ he can give her that. Levi’s still waiting for the day for that to be proven true.

Careful not to wake the sleeping beauty, he makes his way back through the kitchen towards the front door, then up the stairs that leads to their master bedroom. Like he’s done this before, he uses his elbow to turn the bedroom light on then delicately lays her down on top of their illustrious bed.

Levi takes a moment to look at her as if searching for something but comes up empty-handed. He pinches his lips together into a tight line as he looks to the ground, before crossing to the other side of the room and removes his suit jacket, laying it perfectly over the Lazy Boy in the corner. Why Petra insisted on getting that thing is unbeknownst to Levi, it’s fucking hideous.

Checking she’s still sleeping, Levi decides to step out onto their balcony to have a quick smoke before bed, just like he always does. As soon as he grabs his cigarette packet, his mind flashes back to that obnoxious couple and… him.

Putting a cigarette between his lips, but not lighting it yet, he grabs the now very crumpled piece of paper with EJ’s number on it. Levi knows better than to call a random number written on a piece of paper that was shoved into his pocket without his knowledge while his girlfriend was inside sleeping… right?

He contemplates it for longer than he probably should have but decides on smoking instead. He’ll get into a lot less shit for that at the end of the day.

Finishing it off, he flicks the butt over the balcony then quietly goes back inside to find Petra having not moved an inch. He strips down to his boxer briefs and climbs into bed facing the strawberry blonde.

_‘Why can’t I love you?’_ Levi thinks to himself as he gingerly lifts his hand to brush a few stray hairs out of her face. _‘I’ve tried so hard to feel_ something _for you, but I just can’t. Even when I think I want to kiss you, I end up only having wanted to want to kiss you. What I want more than anything is to be honest with you, but I can’t do that either. God, Petra, I want to tell you what’s going on so badly, you have no idea; but if I do, I’ll ruin everything.’_ He gently leans his forehead against Petra’s.

_‘And for that-’_ he plants a long kiss on her forehead, then pulls back to examine her face, “-I am so sorry.” He speaks those last four words aloud, but just barely.

Like any other night, Levi has a very restless night with his insomnia taunting him. When he fell asleep, Levi’s not sure, but he awoke to the sound of dishes clattering together from downstairs. He opens his eyes, blinking a few times as his eyes adjust to the sunlight pouring in through the curtains, to find an empty bed.

He sits up and stretches his arms all the way up above his head before cracking his neck and back, sighing in satisfaction. When he stands up to put some pants on, he notices the clock on the wall. 7:09 am.

_“Shit!”_ Levi screams as he races to put on a dark grey suit and a white button up that’s almost identical to the one he wore the day before. During the mess that is Levi trying to shove his one hour morning routine into less than 10 minutes, Petra bolts up the stairs and into the room.

“Levi, Levi, baby!” she calls out to him as he races past her with his bed head obviously untouched, shirt completely undone, and pants on, but unzipped. He spins around at the entrance to the ensuite to find a wide-eyed Petra.

“Wh-” Levi notices she’s still wearing her pajamas and cardigan from last night. “What are you doing? Why didn’t you wake me!? We should’ve been out the door half and hour ago!” He continues as he storms into the ensuite and begins to frantically brush his teeth.

“Hey, calm down,” she giggles.

“Why are you laughing? This isn’t funny!” His words muffled by the toothbrush and toothpaste now occupying his mouth.

“I’m sorry, it’s not funny. Um- I called my parents and told them we’re coming into the office late today.” Levi spits into the sink.

“Why the fuck would you do that?”

“Because we need to talk, Levi. Away from my parents.” He sighs.

“Look, if this is about what happened at the office yesterday, it-”

“It is, and don’t say ‘it’s nothing’, or ‘it’s fine’. Because it’s not, Levi, you and I both know that.”

Levi has completely stopped in his tracks now. Petra is usually the people pleaser, but when she gets like this, all assertive and confrontational, Levi knows it’s serious.

“They took it way too far yesterday. It was completely uncalled for, not to mention downright rude!”

“Okay, Petra, look,” he says calmly while walking over to Petra and takes her hands in his. “I’m used to it, okay? They’re just trying to prepare me to take over the company one day.”

“And that’s an excuse to call you a ‘bastard’? To say that maybe you would’ve been ‘raised right’ if your mother was still alive, or if your father didn’t abandon you and your mother?” She’s looking Levi dead in the eyes. He knows she’s not going to drop this. He breaks eye contact with her, lets go of her hands and walks to the other side of the room, running one hand through his ebony hair while his other rests on his hip.

Yeah, her parents were god awful people, but they had never said such awful things to him. Normally, they’d only mention how he got into too many fights as a kid and maybe it left him with brain damage, or how maybe they should be entrusting the company to somebody with a high school diploma. Never had they brought up his parents, but it’s not like he could do anything about their spiteful words. They were the CEOs of the damn place after all.

“I’m going to talk to them today.” He stops mid-step and turns to face Petra, but she stands her ground. “And before you say what I know you’re about to say-”

“Yeah, that you’re crazy and that you’re only going to make things worse?”

Levi watches as Petra’s jaw drops slightly.

“Make things worse? _How_ can things _possibly_ get any worse?” Her lower lip begins to quiver. “Do you have any idea what it’s like to watch the man you love get bullied and walked all over by your parents, your own flesh and blood, for doing absolutely nothing wrong? I’ve had enough! They’re burying you, Levi, I can tell!”

“Hey, hey.” He instantly takes her into his arms and holds her tight. “I’m alright. I’ve had to deal with hearing things like that my entire life.”

“You shouldn’t have had to. It’s not fair!” she exclaims into Levi’s shoulder as she returns the embrace. “They’re CEOs of a successful business, they can’t be going around saying things like that to people, much less you.”

“And I’m sorry you had to hear all that.” He pulls back, grabs her face in his hands and brushes his thumbs along her soft cheeks. “A VIP customer made a complaint on an order I placed and looked after. They had every right to be mad at me.”

Every single word coming out of Levi’s mouth was absolute bullshit, but he knows if he lets her stand up to her parents the way she’s standing up to him, she would actually be making the situation worse.

He’s learned that, whenever the Ral’s start verbally attacking him, all he needs to do is get through the onslaught somehow, and keep what he’s feeling inside until he’s alone when he can get all his feelings out physically, or drown them in alcohol. It’s not easy, but it’s a whole hell of a lot better than the alternative.

“What? How can you say that? They’re treating you like a machine.” She grabs his hands that still cup her face, and looks to the ground.

“Hey,” he says, trying to look her in those shining hazel eyes again. “Look at me,” which she does after taking a deep breath. After a moment, Levi leans in and kisses her- still not feeling a damn thing. “I’m okay, yeah? I love you for wanting to stick up for me, but I’ve got this handled.” He gives a small smile.

Damn, he’s gotten _way_ too good at pretending.

“No, you don’t, Levi.” Petra moves her hands to around the back of his head and begins to run her fingers through where Levi’s hair meets his undercut, while Levi moves his hands down to rest on her hips. “Why can’t you let me help you?”

“Because that’s _my_ job."

“You really are a stubborn asshole, you know that?” she says while smiling.

“So I’ve heard.” They share another gentle kiss before Petra breaks away.

“Right. I guess I’ll call my parents again and tell them we’ll be at the office in just over an hour then?”

Levi hums in response. As she grabs her phone out of her pocket, he turns to look in the mirror and grunts in disgust when he sees his still very rugged appearance, and begins to straighten himself out.

“Hey, Mom. Oh, yeah, everything’s fine.” Levi sees Petra turn to face him in the reflection of the mirror. When they make eye contact, he furrows his brows in confusion at the conflicted look on her face. “Well, actually, everything’s not fine.”

Levi spins around and looks at Petra with wide eyes and mouths ‘What are you doing?’ at her, but she continues.

“It’s Levi.”

He prepares to full on rugby tackle her if that’s what it takes to get her to stop talking.

“He woke up with the worst stomach bug. Yeah, fine one minute and now he can’t even get off of the bathroom floor.” She smiles towards him and winks, yet he stands there completely dumbfounded at what she’s saying. “No, I’m still coming in. I want to stay and look after him, but you know what he’s like, stubborn as always. Yeah, okay. I’ll see you soon. Love you, too. Bye.”

“What the hell, Petra?” Levi asks as soon as her thumb hits the hang-up button.

“I did that for you, okay? You deserve to have a day off all to yourself, especially after yesterday.”

“Bu-”

“Nope, no buts. Take advantage of this, alright?” She steps closer to Levi as she speaks. “And no work.” She pecks him on the lips, then walks into the walk-in wardrobe to get ready for work.

Levi’s left standing in the middle of their bedroom, speechless; annoyed yet thankful at Petra’s actions. He has a fuck ton of work to do, but could really use a day to himself. He heads downstairs and into the kitchen to make some coffee for both himself and Petra, not that he needed it since his fucking heart attack woke him up pretty good.

Not twenty minutes later, Petra pokes her head around the door frame into the kitchen and says goodbye. Levi gives her her coffee, kisses her goodbye and watches her leave him to think about what the fuck he’s going to do for the next nine hours.

He never has this dilemma; he’s always either working at the office, working from home, or drinking at the bar.

A memory springs to mind from the previous night. The number. EJ. His legs begin to carry him back upstairs before he’s even really made up his mind to whether he should call the number or not.

He finds his suit jacket, still draping over that stupid Lazy Boy, and digs into the right pocket. Levi hesitates for a moment as his fingers barely graze the paper.

His mind starts racing, ‘what ifs’ plaguing his mind. _What if EJ is that singer? What if he asks to meet up? What if Petra finds out? What if_ he _finds out…_

That last thought instantly makes him crumple the paper in his fist, then throw it across the room, but the ‘what ifs’ don't stop there.

_What if he just enjoyed talking to you? What if he wants to get to know you better? What if he liked the person he saw and wants to be his friend?_

That word… friend… Levi doesn’t have many of those, nor has he ever had many of those, and damn would it be nice to have at least one he could be real with. However, he knows if he's ‘real’ with anyone, he’d be putting them in danger.

But just the thought of it pushes Levi over the edge and, before he knows it, he’s got the paper back in his hands, and his phone up to his ear.

“Hey there, stranger.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> Follow me on Tumblr for all things Ereri <3 http://www.obsessedwithereri-nz.tumblr.com


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ever since Levi was a pre-teen, he knew he'd have to marry her, otherwise he'd have to answer to his abusive uncle which never turned out well for Levi's wellbeing. But after meeting a certain singer at his favourite bar, he knew he was in deep, deep shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my Titan, almost at 300 hits already?? That's nuts! Thank you for reading this, it means the world to me.
> 
> Please let me know what you think of the story so far! It honestly makes my day :D <3

Goddamnit. If Levi knew he was about to run two and a half miles in the snow, he would’ve worn better fucking shoes. It’s only been a couple of minutes since abandoning Baby in the driveway and he’s almost eaten the pavement five times.

But did he care? Not in the slightest. He would much rather have his front teeth violently ripped out than lose the one thing that has brought him true happiness. No matter what it takes, Levi is going to find him. He’s going to tell him how much he fucked up and how much he means to him.

Of course, he didn’t expect to be forgiven or even spoken to because, honestly, he doesn’t deserve his forgiveness. But he needs it.

All he can do is try. If he doesn’t try, he’ll live the rest of his life depressed, alone and filled with regret. Not that he’ll have much longer to live anyway when _he_ gets a hold of him. When that asshole finds out what happened, and he will, he’s as good as dead.

“ _Stop_ it, Levi,” he mutters to himself. If he starts thinking that way, then he will definitely lose him for good. He is the reason Levi’s fought so fucking hard, he is his reason for living.

There’s no way in hell he’s dying before he can tell him that to his face.

 

\-----

 

“Hey there, stranger.”

There’s no doubt about it. It’s him. Even though they only spoke for a few minutes, he knows that voice. Levi tries to respond, knowing exactly what he wants to say, but he physically can’t form the words.

“Um… You still there?” His sweet voice floods Levi’s ear. The words don’t register in Levi’s mind at first, he just enjoys the sound for a moment. Then when his brain does process the fact that he hasn’t said a word, or even made a single noise since EJ answered his call, he immediately blurts out a response.

“ _Yes_ , yup, I’m here.” Levi mentally and physically facepalms himself for being so weird and embarrassing.

“Oh, good. I was worried this was a butt dial.” The brat laughs through the phone. A butt dial… Yeah, as if Levi hadn’t just spent the last 12 hours debating whether or not to call this damn number.

“Uh, nope. Not- not a butt dial.”

“Well, I’m glad. It would be pretty weird if the cute guy you gave your number to miraculously butt dialed your exact phone number.”

Cheeky shit, calling Levi cute. No one except Petra had ever called him cute, and he’s fucking glad. A grown ass man who works for a premium furniture company is _not_ cute. But why on Earth is he blushing like a 13-year-old girl when _he_ says it!?

After a moment of silence, the singer speaks again.

“Ah, sorry. That was, uh, a little much. I’m sorry.”

“N-no, you’re fine,” Levi stands from his spot on the bed and rubs the back of his neck with his free hand. “How, um, how did you know it was me calling you?”

“Well, I haven’t given my number out to anybody else recently, and when I saw it wasn’t a private number I assumed it wasn’t someone trying to sell me something. Call it an educated guess.” He could practically hear this brat’s smile through the phone.

“Right. That makes sense, I guess.”

“Hey, um, I’m actually really glad you called me.”

“Oh yeah? A-and why’s that?” Levi feels his stomach sink, suddenly very nervous.

“Yeah,” EJ drags the word out as if thinking of what to say next. “What are you doing on Thursday?” He blurts out.

Levi freezes mid-pace. _Shit_ , he knew it. This was a bad fucking idea.

“I’m working.”

“Okay,” he drags the word out again. “What about after work?” Goddamnit, kid.

“I, um, I-I have plans.”

“Look, I know this may be a little forward of me,” _Oh no._ “And I don’t normally do this kinda thing, but I really enjoyed talking to you last night and wanted to, y’know, hang out. I understand if you don’t want to though, I can be pretty annoying somet-”

“No-”

 _Levi._ He thinks to himself.

“You’re not annoying.”

_Levi, stop._

“In all honesty,”

_Hang up the phone._

“This has never happened before so-”

_Seriously. Stop. Talking._

“I-I was just caught a little off guard, I suppose.”

 _Hang up the_ damn _phone, Ackerman!_

“I just don’t really know what to say right now.”

“Well,” the singer speaks up. “The only advice I can give you is to say what you _want_ to say. Whatever your heart is telling you, just say that.” And just like that, the booming voice inside Levi’s head goes silent.

His heart… You mean his cold, dead one? Yeah, it’s saying nothing, hasn’t for years.

“Nothing.”

“Huh?”

“I’m not doing anything after work on Thursday.” Woah, where did that coming from?

“Oh, really? I thought you had ‘plans’” the singer’s voice is oozing with sarcasm and Levi lets a small laugh slip.

“I’ve changed my mind.”

“Can’t say I’m upset by that. So, I’m performing at The Library again on Thursday night at seven, if you want to have a drink with me before then? Let’s say at six?”

“Tsk, are you even old enough to drink, brat?” Levi’s eyes widen at what just came out of his mouth. Well done, Levi. There goes your one chance to have an actual friend. Laughing sounds through the phone, and his cheeks warm at the sound. How can a laugh sound so adorable to somebody whose heart is supposed to be stone cold?

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me,” EJ says coming down from his fit of laughter. “And I’m taking that as a yes you’ll have a drink with me?”

“I’ll see you at six, you damn brat.” With that, Levi hangs up.

Without realizing it, Levi has a smile on his face. It’s not as big as Hanji’s; no one's smile could ever compete with her creepy ass smile, but it’s big nonetheless. He even bites his lower lip to try to contain how elated he’s feeling.

However, when he does realize what his heart is making his mouth do, he snaps himself out of it by slapping his cheeks a few times.

 _This is a bad fucking idea._ Levi thinks to himself. _Getting drinks with… With…_

“Shit!” he says under his breath when he realizes he never got the damn brat’s name. He goes to call him again but stops right before selecting his number. Levi doesn’t want to seem clingy like he can’t wait a couple more days before finding out his name.

Thinking about saving his number as a contact in his phone, he goes against it since his number is technically saved under his recent calls and, on that note, scrunches up the piece of paper with EJ’s number on it one final time, and throws it in the trash.

Over the next two days, everything happened the way it always did. When he returned to work on Wednesday morning, the Ral’s didn’t even give him a passing glance, despite being told he had a vomiting bug the day before; so, the usual. He got on with his job, being doubly careful not to ‘mess up’ any orders for these prestigious fucks ordering ridiculously expensive furniture that is truly not worth the investment.

Although, he normally didn’t care an awful lot if he fucked up an order because he is a mindless machine at the office. He didn’t need to give his work his 100% because he’s done it for so many years, it’s actually become extremely difficult for him to fuck up.

However, there was something that was happening to Levi that’d he’d never experienced before. There was only one thing his mind would focus on; seeing EJ again. Whenever he thinks about seeing those eyes or hearing his voice again, butterflies erupt inside his stomach almost making him feel physically sick from nervousness, meaning Levi actually has to _try_ while at work.

Nobody can find out about the brat, people will start asking questions and get _him_ involved… He’s probably shooting himself in the foot, but he can’t help but feel a little excited to have his own little secret, while also feeling absolutely terrified.

He had spoken with Petra Thursday morning telling her he’d be going to the bar after work to have some alone time, which wasn’t unusual for him. So, instead of driving in together which they normally do most days, she took her car and Levi took his.

Levi also decided to wear his favorite suit, knowing it highlighted his musculature in all the best ways. The only downside, it’s Petra favorite also. The only excuse he could come up with for wearing it to the office was that he was in a good mood and felt like dressing up, which wasn’t entirely a lie.

The day goes by without any noticeable incidents and at four o’clock, Petra comes by Levi’s office. They both usually finish work together, but when Levi goes to the bar after work, he stays for an extra hour or so to get shit done and out of the way, then goes to drown his sorrows.

“Hey,” she says as she knocks on his door.

“Hey,” he sighs as he looks up towards her. “You heading off?”

“Yeah. I just wanted to make sure you’re okay. I know my parents are still giving you a hard time.”

“It’s fine, Petra,” Levi purposefully returns his gaze down towards his desk. “You’re mother actually came and apologized to me today.” No she didn’t. He’s only saying that to get her to calm down and drop the topic.

“She did? Oh, that’s great! I’m so glad they realized they were acting horribly.” She has a large smile on her face. Good. Now he hopes she doesn’t go thanking her mother for something she didn’t actually do.

“Yeah, everything’s fine now.” Yet another lie.

“Good.” She sighs in relief as she walks over to give him a hug from behind, wrapping her arms lightly around his neck and shoulders. “What time do you think you will be home?”

“I’m not too sure,” Levi answers honestly, for once. He turns his head to face her. “I’ll let you know, okay?” Petra raises her eyebrows and smirks.

“Will you really?”

“I’ll have my phone in hand the whole time. I promise.” He hates using that word, but he knows if he didn’t, she’d be calling and texting like she did on Monday night.

“Okay,” the couple share a kiss. A pair of green eyes flashes into Levi’s mind. Of course he starts thinking about that brat while he’s kissing his girlfriend, but he can’t help it. He begins to kiss Petra back with a little more passion than he usually does as he continues to think about EJ. After a moment, Levi snaps back to reality and pulls away, clearing his throat.

“I’ll, uh, let you know if I’ll be later than eight, okay?” She nods in agreement and plants one last kiss on Levi’s lips.

“You really do look good in that suit, y’know.” She flirtatiously winks and waves to her boyfriend as she leaves his office.

Once out of eyesight, Levi groans and lets his head drop into his hands. He doesn’t even know the brat’s fucking name yet and this is what he’s doing to him? Maybe this really is a bad idea. He should call him and tell him he has to cancel.

_Say what you want to say. Whatever your heart is telling you, just say that._

His hand that was reaching for his phone immediately freezes in place as he hears a familiar voice in his head. Right, his heart. Levi keeps forgetting about his heart. It’s always either been silent or completely drowned out by his mind convincing him what the right move is to avoid trouble.

Damn it, this was so much easier for Levi when he didn’t feel anything at all.

Five o’clock finally rolls around and it’s almost time for Levi to leave the office to meet with EJ. Heart racing and butterflies reeking havoc, he finishes up the last of his paperwork for the day. He decided he was going to meet up with EJ, but only for the hour before his performance, that’s it. He’ll go, have a drink, find out that what he’s feeling is all in his head and a load of bullshit, then go home to his girlfriend.

“Oi, Levi.” A feminine voice sounds from the doorway to his office just as Levi stands up to leave for The Library. He looks up to see Mrs. Ral approaching his desk, holding a large stack of papers in her hands. “It’s good you’re working late because you’re going to redo all this paperwork.”

The stack of papers smack down onto his desk, some coming away from the pile and slowly drifting onto the floor.

“What?” Levi asks, irritated because he knows exactly what she’s doing.

Even though there is absolutely _nothing_ wrong with his paperwork, she still gets him to do it all over from scratch because his handwriting is too ‘messy’, or he spelled a customer’s name ‘wrong’, or one of the papers has a bent corner. No one cares about a bent corner. He can’t use white out because it looks ‘messy’ and ‘unprofessional’. And his handwriting must be in cursive because it shows ‘elegance’.

What. A load. Of bullshit. Levi wishes he could give this vile woman a piece of his mind but, once again, he knows what will happen to him if he does. Sometimes he thinks it’d be totally worth it; realistically, however, it wouldn’t be in the long run.

“Don’t ‘what’ me. You know exactly what’s wrong with these.” Levi doesn’t give her the satisfaction of a response, so he stays quiet and stares at her. “For the love of God, you really are as stupid as you look, insolent child. _Look_ ,” she snatches a piece of paper from the pile and slams it down in front of Levi.

“I don’t see anything wrong with this, _madam_ ,” Levi spits out that final word without looking down at the form.

“You are asking for a smack, boy. You used _black_ ink when you’re supposed to use _blue_ . We’ve made it very clear that _all_ paperwork _must_ be filled out using blue ink.”

 _You have_ got _to be kidding me. That’s what this senile old hag is upset about this time? The fucking color of_ ink _!?_

“Mmm, so it is,” Levi responds through his teeth, still having not looked at the form in front of him. “My apologies, _madam._ I’ll get right on it.”

“What my daughter sees in you, I’ll never understand.” Her vulgar tone could be picked up by even the most anti-social and oblivious individual. “ _Street rat_.” How the two of them haven’t ripped out each other’s throats yet, most people have no clue.

Shooting daggers directly into the back of her head, as if playing a fun game of darts, Levi angrily begins to re-write all 56 pages worth of bullshit paperwork. He meticulously gets through about 10 pages before checking the time.

5:39 pm. Knowing it takes at least 20 minutes to get to The Library from the headquarters, he bolts up out of his office chair, shoves the ‘poorly’ filled out paperwork and his laptop into his briefcase, and sprints out the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> Follow me on Tumblr for all things Ereri <3 http://www.obsessedwithereri-nz.tumblr.com


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ever since Levi was a pre-teen, he knew he'd have to marry her, otherwise he'd have to answer to his abusive uncle which never turned out well for Levi's wellbeing. But after meeting a certain singer at his favourite bar, he knew he was in deep, deep shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry for the late update, I got slammed with a bunch of work plus a bitch of a writer's block. So, to make up for it here's an extra long chapter for ya!
> 
> Enjoy!! :D

Cold, yet burning. On the outside, Levi’s freezing. He can’t feel his face anymore, and his teeth are starting to hurt from all the cold air he’s pulling into his mouth at a quickening rate. But, on the inside, Levi’s muscles are on fire. He’s pushing himself to the limit, running as fast as his legs will carry him. He can feel the painful blisters forming all over his feet.

But that’s not going to stop him. Not even the apocalypse would be able to stop him now.

It’s been ten minutes of non-stop running and Levi is barely at the halfway point to the studio. He’s been on a constant watch for any empty cabs, but of course, on a day like today, they’re all full.

Pushing through the pain, he digs deep within him to prevent himself from slowing down for even a single second. The thought of holding him in his arms again is the only thing keeping him from giving up.

 

\-----

 

Why does this always happen? Whenever Levi has something to look forward to, something happens that takes it away from him or, even worse, takes it and holds it just out of reach. Usually, it’s something he eventually deems insignificant and brushes it off, but not this… Why did it have to be _this_?

It’s a very good thing Levi knows this part of town inside and out because he manages to flawlessly weave through side streets to avoid as many main streets and traffic lights as possible. One thing that is painfully obvious about Levi is that he’s a control freak; he prefers to do most things himself because he knows others won’t be able to do it as well as he can or to his standards, which are painstakingly high.

When it comes to being on time for anything, the term ‘running late’ isn’t in his vocabulary. Levi plans any sort of planned event to the minute, making sure to have a contingency plan, and a contingency plan for the contingency plan.

So, imagine Levi’s expression when he checks the time as he pulls up to The Library. 6:09 pm. His efforts to get there faster ended up taking slightly longer than it would have if he took the main streets. It doesn’t matter that he’s meeting up with this brat who more than likely won’t give a shit that he’s a little late, it’s the fact that Levi is _never_ late and he hates it.

Anger and self-disappointment flood through his body and he leans back in his car seat and groans for a moment before-

_Knock knock_

Levi’s eyes open to see a pair of hazel eyes and a face covered in hair staring at him. He groans again, this time in annoyance. That is not the face he was hoping to see.

“What do you want, dick,” Levi says as he rolls down his window.

“It’s _Dok_ , and you looked lonely so I thought I’d come to cheer up the little boy,” he says in that stupid voice adults put on when they’re talking to babies, while pinching Levi’s left cheek. In a flash, Levi grabs Nile’s hand and bends it in just the right way to make it hurt like hell, but not injure him. “Ow ow ow ow owwww!”

“I highly suggest you don’t do that again,” he scowls as he pushes Nile enough to make him stumble back a few feet. Levi steps out of his car, adjusts his shirt and makes his way to the entrance. He checks his watch again; 6:11 pm. Shit.

While simultaneously looking down at his watch and walking towards the bar, somebody covers his eyes with their hands. Levi is about to break this fuckers arm until he hears three little words.

“Hey there, stranger.” He calms almost instantly but decides, before he let this moment go on for too long, he grabs the brats hands and throws them off him, and spins around to meet his confused gaze.

“Goddamnit, brat. You know how stupid it is to sneak up on someone like that?” Levi warns him, giving him his usual death glare.

“Sorry,” he giggles. “You know part of me didn’t think you were going to show up tonight.”

“Oh, right,” Levi blurts out after a moment of surprise from the confession. “No, I actually would’ve been early but my asshole of a boss decided to, well, be a fucking asshole and… What’s so fucking funny?” The green-eyed man has covered his mouth with his hand, trying to contain his laughter.

“I-I’m sorry,” he says between small giggles. “Is it possible for you t-to not cuss e-every time you speak?”

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” His laughter continues. “For the love of…” Levi rolls his eyes and continues forward.

The singer's laughter stops almost immediately and he grabs Levi’s right hand with his own, causing Levi to stop in his tracks and turn around. He looks down to see his hand is still being held by the brats, and he doesn’t do anything but keep his hand perfectly still.

“Wait! I’m sorry. It’s just… I’ve never done this before.” He rubs the back of his neck with his free hand.

“Done what exactly?”

“Gone on a date with someone I, kind of, picked up at a bar,” he smiles. When the word ‘date’ left his mouth, Levi’s eyes widened slightly and his lips parted. Levi had a feeling that was what the brat was going to say, but even that feeling wasn’t preparation enough. “Oh my god.” The singer gasps and raises his free hand to his face, giggling awkwardly.

“What is it now?” Levi says trying to regain his composure.

“I just realized that I haven’t told you my name yet,” he lowers his hand to reveal a bright smile that takes Levi’s breath away. “I’m Eren. I would shake your hand but…” The two men look down to see Eren is still holding Levi’s hand.

 _Shit. Stupid brat. Distracting me with his fucking words and that stupid fucking face of his._ Levi removes his hand from Eren’s grasp before nonchalantly introducing himself.

“Levi.”

“Well, Levi, it’s nice to officially meet you.” Chills traveled all the way up Levi’s spine when he heard the singer speak his name for the first time. What the fuck is happening to him? “Shall we?” Eren gestures towards the entrance to The Library.

“Tsk,” Levi rolls his eyes. Not ten feet from the door, he hears the brat speak up again.

“Oh!” Levi sighs in response, but before he could speak, Eren quickly passes him and opens the door with a smirk on his face. “After you.”

He eyes the singer with his signature glare again, but he _still_ doesn’t seem fazed by it. Without saying a word, he walks through the door and makes his way over to his usual spot at the bar. Just like any other Thursday, Hanji is working behind the bar but they’re joined with a new trainee. The kid looks to be the perfect mix of nervous and overwhelmed to be behind the bar of a popular venue, obviously wanting to make a good first impression.

Freckles cover his face, his sparkling hazel orbs gleam with life, and his hair is very uniformly cut with bangs coming halfway down his forehead.

“Marco?” Eren sounds from over Levi’s shoulder.

“Eren! Hey, how’s it going?” The two have large smiles on their faces; safe to assume they’re good friends. “Man, I gotta thank you for helping me get me this job. There’s a lot to remember but I think I’m really going to have fun with this!”

“I knew you would, you’re gonna be great. Oh, hey, Hanji!”

“Ereeeen! How is my cute singing angel doing this fine day?” Hanji squeals as they come over and places both their hands on Eren’s cheeks as he laughs in response to… well, Hanji.

“I’m good, thanks. Umm, I actually have a favor to ask you.”

“Oh, anything for my darling boy.” Levi wants to barf with how much coddling is going on.

“Would it be okay if I take Levi behind the stage? I want to show him that awesome new waiting area.” Waiting area? What the fuck is this kid on about now?

“Oooooh, you two getting chummy are we?” Hanji winks towards Levi. If looks could kill, Hanji would be on the floor in milliseconds. “Of course you can! You’re one of us now. It’s all yours, you lovebirds.”

Levi bolts up out of his seat but Eren places his hand on the small of Levi’s back and speaks for him. Levi is actually impressed, his timing is impeccable.

“Thanks, Hanji,” he says as he begins to lead Levi towards the curtains by the stage.

“I’m going to kill that shit for brains,” Levi mutters under his breath.

“What was that?”

“Nothing.” Jesus, how perceptive is this brat?

Eren continues to lead Levi through a few hallways and out into a large room that has been decorated to look like an outdoor hangout space. Flowers and other plants line the borders of the room, a few sets of tables and chairs that match those inside the bar are scattered throughout, along with a outdoor style fireplace with a wooden, Victorian style bench facing it. Fairy lights drip from the ceiling to imitate stars, while light instrumental music plays out of what seems like thin air.

“Isn’t this place great?” Eren smiles while looking around the room like a child on Christmas morning before looking into Levi’s grey orbs. “It’s where the performers and staff come to have their breaks and wait until it’s their time to perform.”

“Yeah, it’s… nice,” Levi said while getting lost in Eren’s eyes. He’s truly never been more mesmerized by what he considered to be such a mundane color.

“Oh, come on. You can at least pretend to sound a little more enthusiastic than that. Keep that up and I’ll start to think you don’t actually want to spend time with me.” With a skip in his step, Eren makes his way over to the bench in front of the lit fireplace signaling for Levi to join him.

After taking a breath, Levi somewhat reluctantly follows and sits on the bench. But not beside Eren, no, he sits right at the end of the bench opposite to the singer and looks straight into the fire.

“So, tell me about yourself,” Eren says as he lifts one leg up onto the bench and turns to face the raven-haired man as he sighs. “Make it sound more like a chore, why don’t you?” his smile still not wavering from his face.

“What do you want to know?” Levi couldn't help but let a small smile slip from Eren’s remark.

“Hmmm, let’s see. Uh, where were you born?” Levi’s smile drops and not without Eren noticing. “Or... you can tell me what you do for a living?”

Levi doesn’t want to answer any of these questions because he knows it all leads to information he doesn’t want to think about, more or less share with anybody, which Levi thinks is a good thing. It’ll show Eren that he’s not in the slightest bit interesting or fun to be around, then they’ll never need to see each other again.

“I work for a premium furniture company selling custom furniture to rich assholes who have so much money they don’t know what to do with it all,” Levi says with his usual bored tone.

“Sounds interesting. You don’t really peg me as a guy who likes furniture. No offense.”

“None taken. Gotta pay the bills somehow.”

“That’s fair. I know about that all too well,” Eren rubs the back of his neck and breaks his gaze on Levi to look at the floor.

“What’s your story, then?” He might as well ask since he’s going to be here for at least another hour. It’ll make the time go by faster.

“Uhh, oh god, where do I start… Umm, well, I’m 23. I love music and want to have a career in it one day.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah! My parents didn’t agree with it but, no matter how hard I tried, nothing else made me happy so I decided to take some risks. Hanji was only the second person who really believed in me and my music; they gave me a chance to get my name out there and I’ll be forever grateful to them, whether something comes of this gig or not.”

“Didn’t.”

“Hm?”

“You said your parents ‘didn’t’ agree with your music, so they do now since you got this gig?” Eren’s smile faded, similarly to how Levi’s did moments ago. He knew instantly he’s touched on a sensitive topic. “You don’t have to-”

“No, it’s okay. I don’t mind. It happened, so why not talk about it? Umm… My parents always told me that music isn’t a _real_ career. They’re doctors so they wanted me to follow in their footsteps, become a surgeon. But, honestly, blood grosses me out so there was no way that was even a possibility. They would go as far as to hide my instruments and music sheets from me and used my birthday and Christmas as an excuse to buy me anything and everything doctor related: lab coats, textbooks, a cheque with enough money that’d get me through college. After a while, I started to believe them. That music wasn’t a viable career choice and I’d be better off being a doctor.”

Levi could tell Eren was hurting, but something changed as he continued. He saw a different kind of pain; the kind of pain that made him who he is now.

“That was until one day when I was nineteen. I was home alone because both my parents got called into the hospital and there was a knock at the door. When I answered, a woman was standing there and she claimed to be my mother. As soon as she said that word, ‘mother’, I couldn’t help but see the resemblance in our faces. So, I invited her inside and waited for my ‘parents’ to get back from work.” Eren takes a deep breath and finally returns his gaze to meet Levi’s whose own gaze was glued to the singer from the moment he started speaking and was hanging onto every word.

“Long story short, the woman who I thought was my mother for nineteen years wasn’t, and my father is a liar. So I left home and moved in with her, and she was an angel. We got along so well and she did things I’d never experienced before. She encouraged me. She encouraged me to pursue music if that was what made me happy because life doesn’t wait around. That’s why I’m here. I’m here because of her.”

Speechless once again but this time he wishes he wasn’t. He wishes he had the right words to respond to the story he was just told. All he could do is stare at Eren with his mouth slightly agape.

“Shit, I’m sorry. I went a lot deeper than I, uh… Yeah, I’m sorry.”

“You have nothing to apologize for, kid.” Levi, in almost the blink of an eye, went from being stunned to completely serious; his agape mouth now closed, eyebrows slightly furrowed, his eyes giving off an intense look of determination and he’s now turned to fully face Eren.

The words started flowing out of him like his subconscious was speaking for him. He’s so used to having to comb through everything his subconscious _wants_ him to say and do, but at this moment, he feels free.

“Your mother sounds like an amazing woman, Eren. As you said, you’re here because of her, right?” Eren slowly nods. “Then why are you apologizing?” Eren slowly lowers his head to look at his hands and turns his body to face the fire blazing in front of them.

“I don’t know,” he says under his breath. Levi shuffles forward to sit closer to him. Why is he acting this way? His limbs and his voice are moving all on their own.

“You’re here doing something you’re passionate about, something that makes you truly happy.” He tries to catch a glimpse at those beautiful green eyes he’s been constantly thinking about but they remain hidden from his sight. “Hey,” Levi gently calls out. After a moment, his secret wish came true and his gaze was met with green once more.

“Take it from me, Eren. You’re free. It may not feel like it, but you are. Take that freedom and use it to your advantage to do something with your life that’ll bring you nothing but sheer joy and satisfaction. Don’t become a 28-year-old excuse for a man who has a job in a fucking furniture company being a lap dog for people whose middle names are privileged fucks.”

Finally, Levi manages to squeeze that gorgeous smile out from behind those lips along with a small laugh. He doesn’t remember the words that came out of his mouth, but he feels good. _Really_ good.

“Thank you,” the two continue gazing at each other, eyes bouncing back and forth between the others until Levi notices Eren’s eyes dart down for a split second. It was in that moment he realizes how close he had moved towards him, and how little distance remains between them.

Their smiles begin to drop as their gazing continues, and their lips begin to part ever so slightly. A heavy thudding begins in Levi’s chest making him feel sick, but at the same time exhilarated. Gazes now completely drifted to the other’s lips, they lean in towards each other as if in slow motion until they’re less than a foot apart. Eren stops with an almost inaudible gasp and Levi raises his cool grey orbs to meet his green ones as if they were asking for permission.

Without saying a word, Levi returns his gaze down and continues to move forward painstakingly slow. He can feel Eren’s warm breath on his lips now, his brain now turned to static and, _dear God,_ does every fiber in his being just want to feel that brats lips on his already.

“EREEEN!” The two jump out of their trance at the sound of Hanji’s screaming voice from the hallway. “YOU’RE ON IN TWO!”

And with that, Levi’s rational mind returns; fear about what he almost did instantly consumes him. The two sit in complete silence for what feels like an hour, but in reality was only one minute. Levi can see through his peripheral Eren looking at him, trying to decipher what he’s thinking or at the very least waiting for him to speak up about what almost happened.

“I, um, guess I should go set up,” Eren stands and exits the room, leaving Levi to his own inner demons, tormenting and punishing him for what just transpired. “Oh, excuse me.”

“Wh- Eren?” Great. All Levi wants is to be left alone, not left with Hanji ‘I don’t know when to shut my fucking trap’ Zoe. “Levi, what did you say to that boy?” They say as they make their way over towards the still stunned man sitting on the bench. “Levi? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong, four eyes,” Levi hisses towards the brunette.

“Oh… I interrupted a moment, didn’t I?” In a flash, Levi bolts up from the bench and grabs Hanji by the collar of their shirt, pulling them in to be mere inches away from his face.

“There was no moment. There was only boring and awkward small talk. Nothing else,” his voice is low and filled with poison and, for once, he actually sees a hint of fear within Hanji. He sighs heavily as he releases them from his grasp. “Shit.”

“Okay. Nothing happened.” They continue to stand there beside Levi, fiddling with their hands and constantly looking around the room, their gaze not holding onto one spot for more than a moment. “But between you and me…” The man glares up at them, warning them to choose their next words carefully; they hold their hands up in respone. “If there _was_ a moment, you shouldn’t ignore it.”

“That’s it, I’m out of here. I didn’t come here to be lectured on how to live my life,” he begins to storm out before a hand grabs his arm, preventing him from walking any further. “Let me go!”

“No. Eren likes you, alright? Whether it’s in the romantic sense or not, he likes you. I don’t know what he’s told you about his past, if anything, but he could really use a friend like you,” Levi can tell they’re being genuine. Their normal bubbly personality is long gone and has been replaced with a more parental tone of voice. “Just stay for his performance. It means the world for him to see familiar faces supporting him and his music.”

“Fine,” Levi spits as he rips his arm out of their grasp. “I’ll stay for the damn brats singing, then I’m gone.” He storms out into the public area and takes his seat at the bar, but the stage is empty aside from his set up that’s identical to Monday’s.

Five minutes go by. No sign of Eren or Hanji. That new bartender, Marco, is doing a fine job of managing the busy bar all by himself. Where have those two dumbasses disappeared to?

Five more minutes go by. Levi’s starting to feel a little guilty, but this guilt is different. He had expected to feel guilt at some point during the night, however, he’d expected to feel guilty towards Petra about sneaking around behind her back. Instead, he feels guilty towards Eren. He was obviously waiting for him to say something, anything really, but he just sat there and let him get his hopes up then crush them.

Finally, he hears footsteps from the stage. Half expecting to see Hanji, he sees the singer with his scruffy brown hair walk on stage, but he doesn’t make eye contact with anybody in the crowd. His eyes remain looking down towards the floor or on his guitar the entire time. Fuck, maybe Hanji is right.

Like on Monday night, Eren takes a long deep breath with his eyes closed and visually becomes more relaxed and comfortable in the spotlight. He starts to medolically hum into the microphone, gradually getting louder, then with a single strum of his guitar, he begins to sing.

_Gone all my life_  
_Worried about my soul_  
_Brimstone and fire, the stories I’ve been told_  
_Then I saw grace right before my eyes_  
_I should break through those gates_  
_And fall from the sky_

_I hate to let you down, hate to let you down, no_  
_Hate to say it now, hate to say it now but_

_I don't really care where I go when I die_  
_'Cause I just found heaven_  
_You can tell the devil that's he's wasting his time_  
_'Cause I just found heaven_  
_Singin' Halle, Halle, Halle, Halle, Hallelujah_  
_Singin' Halle, Halle, Halle, Halle, Hallelujah_  
_Hallelujah_

_Sins wash away_  
_Dark turns to light_  
_Your body is a temple so take me inside, oh_  
_I feel no pain, pleasures all mine_  
_You give me a taste of eternal life_

_I hate to let you down, hate to let you down, no_  
_Hate to say it now, hate to say it now, but_

_I don't really care where I go when I die_  
_'Cause I just found heaven_  
_You can tell the devil that's he's wasting his time_  
_'Cause I just found heaven_  
_Singin' Halle, Halle, Halle, Halle, Hallelujah_  
_Singin' Halle, Halle, Halle, Halle, Hallelujah_  
_Hallelujah_

_Hate to let you down, hate to let you down, no_  
_Hate to let you down, hate to let you down, no_

_Oh, I don't really care where I go when I die_  
_'Cause I just found heaven_  
_You can tell the devil that's he's wasting his time, no_  
_'Cause I just found heaven_  
_Singin' Halle, Halle, Halle, Halle, Hallelujah_  
_Singin' Halle, Halle, Halle, Halle, Hallelujah_  
_Hallelujah_

_Oh, hallelujah_  
_Cause I just found heaven, hallelujah_  
_Hallelujah_  
_Hallelujah_

The crowd roars into applause as Levi is snapped out of his trance. He knows he was paying attention to Eren’s performance, but what was he thinking during it? He can’t remember if he was thinking at all.

Levi looks directly into Eren’s eyes, secretly hoping he’ll look up so he can show him that he’s there supporting him. He doesn’t look up; he doesn’t even seem to acknowledge the crowd’s cheering before starting the next song.

Levi continues to silently support Eren throughout his full thirty-minute performance, still failing at making eye contact with him.

 _‘Maybe it’d be better if I leave now and never talk to him again. He’d be better off in the long run,’_ he thinks to himself. With that thought, Levi stands from his seat to leave only to hear Eren thank the crowd and begin to walk off stage. His heart and mind start racing, overwhelmed with the stress of making a ‘now or never’ decision within only a few moments.

However, as soon as the boy disappeared behind the stage curtains, his legs began to move, carrying him back towards the waiting room. When he entered the room, he was greeted by the sound of wood crackling in the fire across the room, but no Eren. He curses to himself and decides to sit on the bench again and wait for him, hoping that Hanji wouldn’t let him leave without making Eren see him, just like they did with making him stay.

Looking into the fire, he rests his elbows on his knees and waits, rehearsing what to say to the kid in his head. Fuck, what _is_ he going to say?

“You’re still here?” Levi snaps his head to the left to see Eren standing beside him with a minuscule smile on his face. “I thought you would’ve left after…” He pauses with his mouth open for a moment before looking away. Levi stands from his seat and faces Eren.

“The only place I left was this room to go watch you perform,” his head instantly snaps up to look at Levi again, surprised. “I don’t know if I’ve told you but you have an incredible voice, Eren.”

“Thanks,” he says quietly, his smile slowly growing wider. Silence consumes the two.

“I’m sorry,” they say in unison before they smile and laugh together for a short moment.

“I’ll... go first,” the elder man says awkwardly. “I’m sorry for not saying anything. I could tell you wanted me to, but I, uh…” he shakes his head. “My life is a complicated mess right now.”

“It’s okay, I get it. Plus we literally just met each other not three days ago. No hard feelings?”

“None,” Levi says with a smirk while Eren sighs in relief.

“Thank god. I really want us to become friends. I don’t know what it is but I feel like I can trust you and that never happens with me.” Levi could almost hear his heartbreak inside of him because he knows nobody can or ever should trust him. All he can do is attempt a smile in return.

The two men eventually return to their spots on the bench with at least two feet between them so they don’t have a moment again. Levi really doesn’t know what would happen to him mentally or physically if he let them do anything together. They continue to talk about anything and everything, well not everything in Levi’s case but enough to make Eren feel comfortable and consider him his friend.

“Hey, fellas,” Eren and Levi both turn their heads to see Hanji at the doorway. “We’re closing up so you’re going to have to scadadle.”

Levi’s eyes widen and his jaw drops as Hanji walks away. He frantically checks his watch for the time. 10:23 pm. They had been talking for over three hours. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Eren lean over to catch a glimpse of Levi’s watch.

“Oh, shit, it’s that late already? Man, time flies when you’re-” At an inhumane speed, Levi jumps out of his seat and begins to bolt towards the exit of the room before stopping himself to say goodbye to Eren.

“Fuck, sorry, I _really_ have to go. I… I was supposed to be home earlier to get some urgent paperwork done for work tomorrow.”

“No, you’re fine, I’m sorry for keeping you so long,” he smiles towards him, and after a moment of the two just looking at each other Eren speaks again with a laugh. “Go!”

And with that, Levi runs all the way back to his car at top speed, ignoring Hanji’s goodbye and Nile’s attempt to rile him up. Once in his car, he slams it into reverse, speeds out of his parking spot and takes off.

While driving, he tries to call Petra to apologize for being _extra_ late tonight, figuring he’ll tell her he was working while at the bar and lost track of time, and to also apologize for not texting her as he promised to do earlier in the day.

Answer phone message. Fuck, she’s probably asleep. _Fuck, fuck, fuck._

He speeds home, luckily he didn’t have anything to drink tonight so was able to do it without having to constantly worry about his driving impediment.

He pulls into the driveway with the screeching of his tires across the pavement and quickly but quietly makes his way inside. As he unlocks and opens the front door, he hears Petra laughing from the living room.

Confused, he makes his way down the hallway to see her sitting at the dining room table with another figure whose back is to him.

“Oh, there you are! I would’ve called to tell you we had a visitor but he insisted I let you take your time tonight,” she transfers her gaze from Levi to the tall, lanky figure opposite her. “Isn’t that right, Kenny?”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> PSA: I don't own the song-- Just Found Heaven by Daughtry. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwKXGDQJMYQ
> 
> Follow me on Tumblr for all things Ereri <3 http://www.obsessedwithereri-nz.tumblr.com


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